This is a great “feel-good” story about a couple who have been married for 75 years and still going strong. If you watched the show, you can’t help but notice how much in love and sincerely happy these people are!

Irma (93) and Ray (95) Ziff , a couple married for 75 years were on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 20 May 08. The couple’s son and daughter (71 and 64) were in the audience.

When Irma’s father lost everything in the stock market crash in 1929, the family moved out of Los Angeles and into a home across the street from the Ziffs in Altadena, California. Irma and Ray, who were 14 and 17 at the time, were immediately smitten with each other! When Jay asked if it was love at first sight, Irma said it was and Ray added “I thought she was a hot number!”

Recounting their first date, Irma said that a couple of months after they met they attended a school play where Ray bought her some chocolates in a sack. The young teen was too shy to open it and held it in her lap and the chocolates melted. With his wits as sharp as ever, the 95 year old Ray immediately responded with “I told you she was a hot number!”

Their first date lead to their first kiss as Ray “Wasn’t wasting any time!” About four years after that first kiss they were married. Neiter teen had ever dated anyone before they met.

When asked about the secret to their good health, Irma responded with “love” and Ray added “moderation.” They never want to be mad at each other and never go to bed mad.

The couple celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows at University Village retirement community in Thousand Oaks, California.

Ray read the vows he wrote for the ceremony: “75 years ago, I, Ray, took you, Irma, to be my constant friend. I took you to be my faithful partner. i took you to be my one true love. Do you feel that you’ve been taken? In all seriousness, what you were and what I have always wanted you to be have always been one and the same thing. As we move forward from this day, I will continue to cherish and respect you, to care for you and protect you, to comfort and encourage you through whatever the coming years will bring. This is our diamond anniversary and you are the jewel of my life.” Irma responded by telling Jay “That’s how he got out of buying a diamond!”

This is a great story about a wonderful and successful marriage and arguably one of the best segments ever aired on Leno’s show.

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